First Use of Bayraktar Drone in Eastern Ukraine: Germany and France Express 'Concern', Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Respond

Unlike Germany and France, the United States supported Ukraine.

On October 26, 2021, on the orders of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 reconnaissance and strike unmanned system was used in combat for the first time in the area of the Joint Forces operation in eastern Ukraine.

We detail the use of the drone, the reactions of Ukraine's Western partners, and what Ukrainian diplomats responded.

Use of the Bayraktar

On October 26, from 14:25 to 15:15, a battery of D-30 howitzers of the Russian-terrorist forces shelled Joint Forces positions in the area of the settlement of Hranitne; two Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen were wounded during the shelling, and one of them was killed.

At the start of the shelling, a ceasefire demand was immediately put forward through the OSCE SMM, and a note was sent through diplomatic channels. However, the occupiers did not respond.

To force the enemy to cease fire, the Bayraktar was used on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The unmanned aerial vehicle did not cross the line of contact and destroyed one gun with its crew of the Russian-occupation forces with a guided bomb.

It is noted that after this, the occupiers stopped shelling Ukrainian positions.

As Lieutenant General and commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhii Naiev told BBC in an interview, Ukrainian Bayraktar strike drones have in fact been on combat duty for more than half a year, and their remote crews (operators at headquarters, ed.) are ready to strike day and night.

Serhii Naiev
Lieutenant General, Ukrainian Armed Forces

They have been on combat duty since spring this year, when Russian battalion tactical groups were reinforced (near Ukraine's borders and in Crimea, ed.). They conducted reconnaissance and training.

According to him, Ukrainian Bayraktars since March 2021 "have shown their effectiveness for reconnaissance and provided practical data on the enemy".

Serhii Naiev
Lieutenant General, Ukrainian Armed Forces

They patrol not only Donbas but also the south and north of Ukraine. They flew in April, as well as during the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2021 exercises. Where the level of military threat grows, the Ukrainian Armed Forces use their full range of weapons, including the Bayraktars.

After the first combat use of the Bayraktar in Donbas on October 26, when a munition from the strike drone hit a gun of the illegal armed formation "1st Slavic Brigade of the DPR" but the crew survived, media suggested that a "training missile" had been used at that time.

US Support

The US Embassy responded to the use of the Bayraktar in Donbas, stating that the US holds a consistent position that Kremlin propaganda deceives regarding the escalation of the situation on the part of Ukraine.

"Betrayal" came from an unexpected direction: Germany and France are "concerned"

Germany is concerned about the increase in violations of the ceasefire regime in eastern Ukraine, as well as the fact that all sides of the confrontation are using drones.

Andrea Sasse
Spokesperson of the German Foreign Ministry

In Berlin there is great concern about the increase in the intensity of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, as well as the General Staff of the Ukrainian army's report that, in response to artillery shelling and the death of one soldier and the wounding of another, Ukrainian forces used a Bayraktar-type drone.

She noted that in recent weeks the OSCE SMM has documented an increase in violations of the "ceasefire regime" and the use of heavy weapons, which contradicts the Minsk agreements signed by Russia and Ukraine.

In addition, the diplomat added, "drones are used by all sides, although the Minsk agreements allow this exclusively to the OSCE mission".

Berlin calls on all sides to de-escalate. Developments over the past months and weeks show that all sides must take a more constructive approach than before in political negotiations, the spokesperson said.

According to her, Germany together with France is working intensively to organize a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Normandy Four. Sasse found it difficult to answer a question about the date of the meeting.

In France, the Foreign Ministry made a similar statement.

"We are concerned about the escalation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, including the increased use of heavy weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements, and the announcement by the Ukrainian army's headquarters of the use of an armed drone of the Bayraktar type. These events contradict the measures to strengthen the ceasefire regime that entered into force on July 27, 2020," the French Foreign Ministry said.

Ukraine's Response

The first to respond to Germany's concern was Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, Andrii Melnyk.

Andrii Melnyk
Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany 

Ukraine has a legitimate right to self-defense when its territory is bombed day and night by Russian heavy weapons, and when civilians and soldiers are dying. Therefore, we call on the federal government (of Germany, ed.), instead of expressing concern about the dramatic situation in the occupied territories, to double its efforts as a mediator to convene the Normandy summit in Berlin, as agreed, and to put Moscow in its place.

Later, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba joined Melnyk's statement. He said that in using drones, Ukraine did not violate the "Minsk agreements".

Dmytro Kuleba
Foreign Minister of Ukraine

First, Ukraine did not violate anything. Second, we followed the necessary communication procedures through the Joint Coordination and Control Center with the OSCE in order to exercise the right to self-defense.

He stressed that Ukraine's partners should be concerned above all that the howitzer destroyed by the drone, which is prohibited by the Minsk agreements, was located much closer than permitted.

Dmytro Kuleba

So that is why, when a howitzer is brought up to the line of demarcation, shells our positions and kills our soldiers, this fact goes without due assessment. We are in contact with German colleagues, we have no doubt that they remain principled supporters of a peaceful settlement, but any assessments must take into account the full context of the situation. Only then are they objective and allow the target audience to correctly perceive the situation.

President Volodymyr Zelensky also responded to the statements of Germany and France. He stressed that the Armed Forces use weapons to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state, and only in response to violations of the ceasefire regime in Donbas by the enemy.

Volodymyr Zelensky 
President of Ukraine

We are not attacking, we are only responding. By the way, we respond in accordance with the ceasefire agreements. Ukraine will act precisely in this format. When the Ukrainian army feels that it needs to defend its land, it does so. And it will continue to act strictly on this principle.

How many Bayraktars Ukraine has

It is known that the Ukrainian army has 12 Bayraktars, which are two sets of six aircraft each, several control stations, and several hundred munitions for them.

In September, the new Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, told the Azerbaijani outlet Report that the Ukrainian army plans to purchase four more Bayraktar TB2 sets.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi
Lieutenant General, Ukrainian Armed Forces

For the needs of the Armed Forces in 2021-2022, it is planned to purchase four more such systems. In the future, we plan to replenish the arsenal with locally produced unmanned aerial vehicles.

So this could mean 24 more aircraft, which would bring their number in the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 36.

However, Valerii Zaluzhnyi added that buying Bayraktars is only half the job.

"First, we need to learn how to work with them effectively. Second, we must necessarily know the tactics for the forms of their use. We must approach the issue comprehensively," Zaluzhnyi noted even before the first use of the drone.